Category: Scotland

One of the biggest appeals of studying abroad for me was the idea that I technically wouldn’t be considered a tourist. Your stereotypical tourist is annoying, and the idea of being one of them is something I constantly fear when I’m anywhere new. The idea, then, that I would be living in Glasgow was all I needed to hear. 

Living around locals, going to school with them, and eating at the restaurants they go to makes me feel fully immersed in this culture. So when I go to Edinburgh, for example, I am nothing but a tourist sightseeing and standing in everyone’s way like the rest of them. 

Edinburgh is packed every day of the week at any time to the point where I can’t ever get those nice, aesthetic Instagram photos everyone else seems to have no trouble with. I know their secret is more likely than not just Photoshop, but my point still stands. I hate feeling like a tourist. 

In Glasgow, I feel like I belong. I know where all the grocery stores are and all the best places to eat near me. I even know the pattern of the stop lights at this point. I live here and I feel like a local. 

Sometimes, admittedly, I forget that I’m not. 

The other weekend, my friend and I took a weekend trip to Dublin, and this fact hit me in the face. We were walking around like chickens with their heads cut off because we didn’t know anything, and I hate not knowing anything. No amount of watching TikToks or reading Google reviews will ever prepare you enough to just plant yourself in another country. 

This is the fun of the experience, just trying to figure things out, but it makes me feel like the tourists that always get on my nerves when they just stand around not knowing anything. And so I choose to wear my heart on my sleeve when I confess that, I too, am an annoying tourist at times. Nobody is safe from the stereotype, I fear, but it’s okay. 

Yes, I took pictures of all the landmarks, bought postcards, and went on a Guinness tour. I fell into every tourist trap, and I absolutely loved every second of it. These experiences and landmarks are popular for a reason: they’re fun! 

My advice to anyone fighting the tourist label like myself is to just embrace it. Feeling like a local is fun, it’s my favorite part, but it is just as fun sometimes to take a corny selfie in front of the Guinness factory like everyone else. 

Since we’re being fully honest here, I am also typing this whilst currently wearing a sweater I bought from the Guinness Store. Was it ten times more expensive than it should have been? Of course. But do I regret it? Of course not. 

Fashion has no price tag in my mind. And while walking around the airport decked out in Guinness made me embarrassed at first, I was only one of a dozen others. This is my version of embracing my tourist tendencies, slowly but surely.

“People Make Glasgow” is the motto printed on everything from street signs to trash cans (or bins if I want to talk like a true Brit). Even before I arrived here, all I ever heard about Glasgow was how friendly and nice everyone is, but I guess I never expected it to be quite like this. 

I hadn’t thought much about this idea, admittedly, until I got in an Uber one day. I was going to IKEA, as it is a rite of passage for all foreign students, and the driver was very friendly, asking me and my friend how we enjoyed Glasgow so far. He particularly asked us if the people are noticeably different here. When we, of course, said yes, he was excited to tell us exactly why he thinks that is. 

People here aren’t in a rush, he explained. Compared to Americans, people in Glasgow actually do stop to smell the roses. This leads to more genuine conversations between strangers and ultimately more friends and stronger relationships. His view of America was a fast-paced lifestyle with no time to slow down and enjoy what you are doing. The small things matter here. 

That short conversation changed my entire outlook on Glasgow. This is exactly what makes Scotland so appealing, and it’s no wonder so many people want to come here. Being here has allowed me to slow down in all aspects and just enjoy the journey, whether it’s walking to school and just enjoying the nature around me, or chatting with locals on the train. 

I was reading a novel for my Scottish Literature class the other week. “The Living Mountain” by Nan Shepherd is a classic Scottish novel where she essentially pioneered nature writing, which was revolutionary and looked down upon at the time. This novel is extremely slow-paced, and even while reading it, you are forced to slow down to really begin to understand the mountains and what makes them so special. 

Admittedly, I found this a boring read at first. When I finally got past that initial urge to just skim it, I realized that I was not enjoying it the way it was intended. When I was able to get over my initial response to just get the reading over with, I got to enjoy this novel and her genuine love for the place she grew up in. 

Shepherd personifies the Cairngorm Mountains in a beautiful way that even non-locals can appreciate and relate to. This reading solidified the idea of slowing down, which the Scottish lifestyle values. 

I have learned so much about people and the city I am in by simply slowing down and taking the time to truly appreciate it. It sounds so simple, but this idea has become a lost art in America. I hope to continue to take this idea back home with me and remember it long after I leave, because, as I have heard time and time again, you may leave Scotland, but Scotland will never leave you.